#WWoW A Day In The Life of A #MFRWauthor Ann Raina

A Day In The Life of MFRW Author Ann Raina
Ann Raina lives and works in Germany with cats and a horse. Riding and writing are her favorite hobbies. So far she has written thirteen novels for eXtasy Books with more to come. Her latest series, starting with The Secretary’s Bodyguard, turns around a couple getting into dangerous, life-threatening adventures.

In all of her books she combines romance, suspense, and humorous elements, for no thrilling story can stand without a comic relief.

Connect with Ann on facebook or on her website.

I work in an office. I have a horse to take care of every day. These demands limit my writing time, including on weekends. Therefore I'm used to write wherever I go and have time to ponder ideas, scenes, and character development. I don't leave the house without a notebook and pen.

My latest, now published book was written in four months because the story came up nicely and many characters offered themselves for developing from the series' first three books. I loved adding new characters, and my muse did a lot in creating their backgrounds. With the storyline set and the main characters defined, I used every minute of the day to write the scenes.

It was so much fun, especially the afternoons with my muse -- lots of coffee, cookies, and enough paper to write down essential notes.

No Motivation for Marketing Your Romances? #MFRWorg #romance

For those of you that are out there killing it in terms of your marketing (you know...writing on your own blog, guest-posting, great Twitter and Facebook presences, a thriving and regular newsletter, a community of people who love your books and share them regularly...), YAY! Good for you.

This blog isn't for you. It's for the rest of us, those of us who struggle with balancing a full-time other career, possibly a spouse and children, the actual writing of the novels, and then marketing on top of all of that.

I do a lot of marketing for my career as a life coach. A ton. But I don't do much at all for my romance novels, which means that those poor little novellas that I wrote three years ago suffer in obscurity and are dying a slow, lingering death. (I've since written four more complete novels and am actively subbing, but that is a subject for another blog.) So I do know what it takes to succeed in the marketing arena, even if I'm not always doing it for my little romances.

My point is, if you are in the same space: I hear you. I feel you.

Most of us already know what we "should" be doing. It's like someone who wants to start exercising. She's not trying to convince herself that sitting all day is healthy. She just can't seem to find the motivation to get out there.

And like our friend who wants to exercise, for us romance writers, marketing is usually one of the last things that we do. It's so tiring. It's a slog. Someone might reject me. People might not like what I post. Yuck!

And yet, there are plenty of people out there in exactly the same boat, and yet, they still manage to find the time to do a good bit of marketing. So how do they do it?

Okay, so let's get down to the nitty-gritty. How do you motivate yourself to keep going with your marketing, even when everything else (including your own thoughts) gets in the way?

1. Find your why

Why, exactly, are you even bothering to market your books? Do you want more money for your next vacation, more readers so that you can spread your message of peace and love and aliens-are-invading, or possibly you just want to have a deeper connection with the readers that you already have?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's probably mainly so that we can have more readers, more people who buy our books. But what, exactly, does that translate into for you? What are you hoping that money will buy?

Now here's the fun part: Spend a few minutes today writing and dreaming about your the experiences and things that money would buy. If you sold JK-Rowling-like numbers of books tomorrow, what would that enable you to do? What charities would you support? Which vacations would you take? With whom would you spend more time?

Spend 10-20 minutes really getting into the details of what you want from that expanded readership. How would you be helping those readers? What is your message that you want to get to them?

This exercise has been extensively studied by positive psychologists (in terms of increased happiness), but it also really helps to awaken our subconscious mind to possibilities that we might not ordinarily see.

2. Plan, plan, plan

I'm a pantser. I love spontaneity in my life. I would jet off to Europe tomorrow if you asked me to (and gave me a plane ticket. And a babysitter. Minor details.)

But for anything that has to get done in my week, including marketing, blogging, and submitting to other, bigger blogs, I have to block it out in my calendar. And then, like a meeting with my boss (who also happens to be me) I don't allow anything to interfere with that time.

Don't mistake urgency for importance

Most of us make this mistake. We see an email pop up and we think we have to answer it. Or a text. That little bell is a Pavlovian response to "oh, someone needs me. I must answer them right now!".

But what's truly most important to you? Getting out requests for reviews, or posting a new Facebook meme? Contacting other bloggers for possible guest posts, or answering your mother's phone call during your prime working hours?

This gets back to blocking out your time. Turn off your phone, shut off the internet, and get it done.

3. Challenge your thoughts

This is number three, but it's actually the biggest one to take on in terms of  our marketing challenges. We have these little fears that masquerade as actual reality, things like "Last time I did a blog hop, no one even commented. It's pointless to even do it."

But challenge that thought. Did you truly get zero comments? You probably got at least a few. I also like to remember that everyone starts from somewhere. That all great marketers started out with just one Facebook follower. That all of marketing is a slow build, until eventually it becomes an avalanche.

You can use this process, called thought-refuting, with any of your fears. What are you really most afraid of in putting yourself out there? Once you've identified it, turn that thought on its head. There's always a counter-argument or thought to negate the uncomfortable one.

Something is always better than nothing.

What can you do right now, today, that will get you back on the path? Even twenty minutes of beautiful sharing (sharing - not selling - you know this!) will get you back on that path.

Have you struggled with your own marketing? What do you do to overcome it? We'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Erin writes sensual paranormals and historical romances as Erin Moore. In her other life, she's also a life coach, helping women to answer the question of how to add value in their lives and careers in a vibrant and meaningful way, even while navigating the chaos and frustrations of everyday life. She believes that everyone deserves an amazing life of abundance, and her free e-book "Your Kick Ass Life: A Process for Answering "What Do I Do With My Life" is available on her website.

Retweet Day for #MFRWauthor @MFRW_Org Join the Fun

Retweet Day for #MFRWauthor - Join the fun

For this month's Retweet Day on Twitter, we'd like to invite all Marketing for Romance Writers to set up tweets for their books.

Go into Twitter and create a tweet . Make sure to use #MFRWauthor or MFRW_Org

Once the tweet has been posted. Click on the ... (three dots) in the right hand corner.

This will give you the option to (copy link to tweet). Copy this link and put it in the comment section of this post.

Remember to visit the blog on October 12 and retweet everyone on the list.

Also in an effort to help people find tweets to share of yours, click the ...(three dots) again and pin your tweet to your profile page. This will give you a count of how many people retweeted your post.

Don't forget the Rules

1. Have #MFRWauthor or #MFRWorg in the tweet. (This retweet day is to promote each other and our group.)

2. Do not use profanity or sexual explicit graphics. Keep it clean for all age groups.

3. Return on Retweet Day and click each link and share everyone's post on twitter.

4. Click the G+ symbol on the tweet so you can see where you left off, and to add a little more visibility to the post.

Here's to a great day of retweets,

Tina Gayle
www.tinagayle.net

Fandom on Twitter #UsingTwitter @kayelleallen #MFRWauthor

Everyone is a fan of something, and you can probably find it on Twitter.

If you like to read about a specific thing, use a hashtag (#) to search for it. For example, #crossstitch #Hobbit #scifi #recipes. In Twitter, go to the search bar (upper right) and type one of those. Hit return, or click the magnifying glass in the search bar. Tweets from anyone who used the term you searched for will show up. Try it with almost any word (no spaces) and you will see the possibilities.

Thranduil Fan Art (#thranduil #fanart)

Popular searches for writers:

#amwriting

#amediting

#writing

Popular searches for readers:

#romance

#suspense

#scifi

#comedy

Media Fandoms

But there are other fandoms besides books. Let's talk TV for a minute Do you follow any shows? These are all on Twitter.

Vampire Diaries #TVD https://twitter.com/cwtvd

Once Upon A Time #OnceUponATime https://twitter.com/OnceABC

The Flash #TheFlash https://twitter.com/CW_TheFlash

Supergirl #SuperGirl https://twitter.com/TheCWSupergirl

NCIS #NCIS https://twitter.com/NCIS_CBS

Meeting Fans

Pick a show or movie that fits the genre you write, and begin following it. Retweet and share views. You will meet fans of the genre, and end up with followers. The important thing about this is NEVER to use the hashtag to promote your books. Think of fellow fans as online friends who are just as real as friends you'd meet at a coffeeshop or while out shopping. Talk to them and they will talk back. Don't try to sell them anything. Just be a tweep (friend/peep on Twitter).

Fanart

Use the hashtag #fanart and you'll be amazed at how many talented people there are out there. They love the same TV and movies as you (or the same video games, etc.). These people have like interests, and when you appreciate their art, they are more likely to follow you. Want more? Follow this account. DeviantArt https://twitter.com/DeviantArt (they aren't deviant - it just means alternative).

Why is that important? Because they might end up being your fan. But you have to meet them first, so get out there and be a fan!

About the Author

Kayelle Allen https://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Follows: #scifi #Thranduil #Loki #fanart #MFRWauthor
image credit: Kimberly80 on DeviantArt

#MFRWauthor Come Join the Fun of Retweet Day

Retweet Day for #MFRWauthor - Join the fun

For this month's Retweet Day on Twitter, we'd like to invite all Marketing for Romance Writers to set up tweets for their books.

Go into Twitter and create a tweet . Make sure to use #MFRWauthor or MFRW_Org

Once the tweet has been posted. Click on the ... (three dots) in the right hand corner.

This will give you the option to (copy link to tweet). Copy this link and put it in the comment section of this post.

Remember to visit the blog on Sept. 7 and retweet everyone on the list.

Also in an effort to help people find tweets to share of yours, click the ...(three dots) again and pin your tweet to your profile page. This will give you a count of how many people retweeted your post.

Don't forget and Rules

1. Have #MFRWauthor or #MFRW_org in the tweet. (This retweet day is to promote each other and our group.)

2. Do not use profanity or sexual explicit graphics. Keep it clean for all age groups.

3. Return on Retweet Day and click on each link and share everyone's post on twitter.

Here's to a great day of retweets,

Tina Gayle

www.tinagayle.net

Tina Gayle